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Mitch Marner
| birth_place = Markham, Ontario, Canada | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 11 | weight_lb = 164 | position = Centre / Right Wing | shoots = Right | league = NHL | team = Toronto Maple Leafs | prospect_league =OHL | prospect_team =London Knights | former_teams = | ntl_team = CAN | draft = 4th overall | draft_year = 2015 | draft_team = Toronto Maple Leafs | career_start = TBD | career_end = }} Mitch Marner (born Mitchell Marner on May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 4th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Playing Career Minor Playing Career Mitch began his youth hockey career playing for the Clarington Toros of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) when he was 7 years old, primarily playing with and against players a year older. After a year with the Toros, he moved to the Whitby Wildcats (which is also a part of OMHA) and spent two years playing for the Wildcats before transitioning to the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) where he joined the Vaughan Kings and went on to win a GTHL title. For the 2012–13 season, Mitch transitioned to the Don Mills Flyers of the GTHL where he played his minor midget year, registering 86 points in 55 games. He finished second in scoring in the GTHL behind Dylan Strome (who was then playing with the Toronto Marlboros). At the end of his season with the Flyers, he was immediately invited to joint the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League, where he went on to win a championship. During his minor midget season, Mitch was initially unsure of his plans for the following season. He received a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan while also being drafted by the London Knights in the first round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection (19th overall). Major Junior Playing Career Despite receiving a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan, Mitch chose to sign with the London Knights, who selected him with their first round pick in the 2013 Priority Selection. He had a strong rookie season with the Knights, registering 59 points in 64 games and was the runner up for the OHL rookie of the year, behind Travis Konecny. During the 2014–15 OHL season, Mitch experienced superb play playing alongside line mate Max Domi. As the season progressed, he was consistently included as one of the top prospects in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, being listed as a definitive top ten pick, if not top five. Mitch would lead the league in scoring for most of the season until Dylan Strome of the Erie Otters recorded six points in the final game of the season, knocking Mitchell down to second. In reward for his outstanding sophomore season, he was named to the OHL First All-Star team and awarded the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the OHL's highest scoring right wing player. He would end up being selected fourth overall by the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. On July 28, 2015, the Leafs signed Mitch to a three-year entry level contract. On October 1, 2015, he was named as co-captain of the Knights along with teammate Christian Dvorak. He played most of the season on the right wing alongside Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk. Mitch dominated alongside his linemates throughout the season, ultimately recording 116 points in 57 games which was good enough for him to win the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's most outstanding player of the year. During the 2016 playoffs, he recorded ludicrous numbers, winning the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champion by helping London sweep the finals against the Niagara IceDogs, having only lost two games in their playoff run. In his championship run, Mitch recorded 44 points in 18 games, good enough to win the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as the playoff MVP. He helped lead the Knights in claiming the 2016 Memorial Cup & won both the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy and the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as tournament MVP and leading scorer. Professional Playing Career Toronto Maple Leafs After an impressive training camp and pre-season (in which he led the team with four assists), it was announced that Mitch would remain on the Maple Leafs roster for the upcoming 2016–17 season. He made his NHL debut in the team's season opener on October 12, 2016. Despite having an effective first game, he was overshadowed by a historic four goal debut from his teammate Auston Matthews. The next game, he would score his first NHL goal and pick up his first career assist four days later. On October 27, 2016, in a game against the Florida Panthers, Mitch had his first multi-point game, accumulating 3 assists to lead the Leafs to a 3–2 win. He would then have his first multi-goal game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 3, 2016 and the Leafs defeated the Sabres 2-1. On November 15, 2016, Mitch had 3 points in a 6–2 win over the Nashville Predators (which at the time) put him in the joint-lead for Leafs' leading scorer with James van Riemsdyk for the first time of his career. He also set the Maple Leafs record for most assists in a season by a rookie with 42 assists on the year. This broke the previous record which was held for 73 years by Gus Bodnar who had 40 assists in the 1943–44 season. Mitch spent the entire season on a line with van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak, finding offensive chemistry with the two veterans, and managed to finish the year with 61 points. Mitch's play assisted the team in qualifying for the post-season. He picked up four points in the series, but it was not enough as the team lost in six games against the top seeded Washington Capitals. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International International Play Mitchell made his international debut for Canada at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where he won a gold medal. He tied Mathew Barzal for the leading scorer from Canada at the tournament. At the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships held in Helsinki, Mitchell and Dylan Strome each scored four goals and 2 assists in 5 games to lead the Canadian team in scoring. Canada reached the quarterfinals, but they were eliminated by the host Finland. Accolades Personal Life Mitch was born in Markham, Ontario, but he spent the majority of his life in Thornhill, Ontario. He is the son of Paul and Bonnie Marner, and has one brother, Christopher, who is four years older. In his draft year, the Marner family owned two pets: a cat named Burbank and a chocolate Labrador dog, Winston. He attended Hill Academy, a private school focused on athletics, located in Vaughan. He would later go to Blyth Academy. At Blyth, he partnered with Knights teammates Christian Dvorak and Owen MacDonald to establish a cafe known as MOD Feast, with MOD being an acronym for each creators names (Marner, Owen and Dvorak). The group offers "bagels and stuff" with Fridays being designated to serving pizza. Growing up, Mitch was a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the very team that would draft him. He was also a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks due to the presence of his two favourite players, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. Alongside hockey, he has listed his favourite movie as "Step Brothers", his favourite television show as "The Big Bang Theory" and cited his favourite video games as the "Grand Theft Auto" and "Call of Duty" series. On May 5, 2016 (the day of Mitch's 19th birthday), his lifelong home in Thornhill was severely damaged by a fire, but there were no injuries; the family dog was rescued by neighbors while the pet cat was found alive and well after the blaze was put out by firefighters. Despite the fire, he would score 2 points in the first game of the OHL finals, held the same night. Before every game, he eats a pack of Skittles. Category:1997 births Category:London Knights alumni Category:Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Category:Canadian ice hockey players Category:Canadian ice hockey centres Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks